The Cold War between 1947 and 1991 was fought on ideological grounds. The imperial West sought to establish its dominance in world affairs to the defeat of the Soviet Union and its allies. In the aftermath of WWII, communist ideology had gained unprecedented popularity and was spreading across Europe. The US and Britain were terrified of the consequence of the spread of communism on the global political and economic landscape. At that time, Germany was learning towards communism and was going through post-war economic convulsions. That the European economy to a large extent depended on Germany’s industrial base, the US tabled the Marshall Plan as an attempt to extend influence on the political and economic direction of Europe.

The famous speech “Restatement of Policy on Germany” by former US secretary of state James Byrnes in Stuttgart September 6 1946 set the Cold War into motion. In his speech Byrnes sold “peace” as the reason for Germany to reject communism. He also said: “We [the US] have learned that peace and well-being are indivisible and that our peace and well-being cannot be purchased at the price of peace or the well-being of any other country.” What followed was the systematic campaign by the US to de-legitimise and undermine communism with consistent regularity and zeal. The protection and promotion of Western interest was paramount.

The end of the Cold War, which was precipitated by the fall of the Soviet Union and the wave of anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe in 1991; somewhat coincided with the genesis of the military adventure of the West in the Arab world in 1990. Saddam Hussein’s armed forces had invaded Kuwait, which provoked “international” condemnation. The US led military efforts to prevent the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. During the Cold War, Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union and Saddam Hussein’s support of anti-Israel groups was a source of discontent and disgust by the US. The Gulf War was not waged out of interest for the security of the people of Kuwait but for protection of interests of the West in the region and to safeguard the security of Israel.

The US had already fought a proxy war in the region, when it supported, financially and militarily, the mujahideen in Afghanistan who were fighting against the Soviet Union and the Marxist-Leninist government of Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden was part of the mujahideen who enjoyed support of the US during this war. He was useful for advancement of the US agenda against the communist onslaught at the time. The Afghan war with the Soviet Union was the rallying point for Islamic fundamentalists who deemed their cause a Jihad against invaders. The Afghan Jihad victory against the Soviet Union in 1988 led to the creation of al-Qaeda, a base movement that would lead the Jihad in future. The US must be proud to have contributed financially and militarily to the establishment of al-Qaeda.

It was this Gulf War of 1991 that established a fertile ground for the future “War on Terror” against al-Qaeda and its affiliate organisations. The US had sent its troops to Saudi Arabia and established military bases in that Muslim country in order to launch the war against Saddam Hussein’s armed forces. Post the Gulf War, US troops remained in Saudi Arabia, largely for the purpose of policing the region and protecting its own economic and political interests. The presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia provoked the same anger against the US among the mujahideen as was the case against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. A similar ideological battle between Western fundamentalism, which is rooted in principles of democracy and free-market system, and Islamic fundamentalism, premised on sharia, which rejects the free-market system.

It is now more apparent that the pretext for advancement of political and economic interests in the post-Cold War era is the invented “War on Terror”. A top military intelligence official in the UK, Major General Michael Laurie, told the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq invasion that: “We knew at the time that the purpose of the dossier was precisely to make a case for war, rather than setting out the available intelligence and that to make the best out of sparse and inconclusive intelligence.” Further to this Colin Powell’s former chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson, in an msnbc interview said: “You can be very cynical and say he [George W Bush] didn’t want to get him [Bin Laden] because once he got him the war was over and that left all the political advantage gone.”

The “War on Terror” is the war against the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the propagation of Islamophobia, which has nothing to do with combating terrorism. The spread of terrorism is rooted on the expansion of the US and its allies in the Arab world. Islamic fundamentalism has been painted as the key driver for terrorism; that the establishment of Islamic states would be the precursor to the collapse of international peace and security. Unsurprisingly, a weak Islamic state of Afghanistan, under the Taliban, was swiftly overthrown and a puppet regime under Hamid Karzai installed.

The rise of Jewish fundamentalism (Zionism) and the pursuit of Jewish self-determination is seen as a force for good, as it closely aligns with the agenda of the West; whereas the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the pursuit of Muslim self-determination is seen as a force for evil. Jewish fundamentalism embraces the fundamental precepts of free-market system. Between the West and Israel, there exists a coalition of political and economic aggressors. Jewish fundamentalists respond with great vengeance against anyone who dares challenge Israel. A Jewish Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Tony Kushner, had been stripped of his honorary degree by a New York University because he committed the cardinal sin of criticising the apartheid state of Israel. Kushner is now portrayed by Jewish fundamentalists as the symbol of those closet “anti-Semites” or “self-hating Jews” who continuously bash apartheid Israel.

Organisations like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are seen as terrorist movements because of their unapologetic pursuit of Muslim self-determination. Hamas advocates for the establishment of an Islamic state in Palestine, resulting in them being deemed a “terrorist organisation”. Iran, which became an Islamic state after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is “the state sponsor of terrorism”.

Al-Qaeda and the Taliban embrace the fundamentals of Islam and advocate for establishment of Islamic states in the Arab world. Ordinarily, the two Islamic fundamentalist organisations would become the enemy against the imperial forces of the West, regardless of whether their means to an end is killing civilians or not. The West used “human rights” and “democracy” to discredit the spread of communism and a similar tactic is employed towards Islamic fundamentalism. The West, ironically, commits greater crimes against humanity than those so-called terrorist organisations. The world has become largely unsafe, precisely because of the actions of the West. The “War on Terror” could end tomorrow, if the murderous US and its allies pull their troops from occupied Arab states and mind their business.

When the phoney “War on Terror” ends, the West will find another reason to crush that which stands in the way of their imperialist interests. Unfortunately, international institutions such as the UN Security Council have become the instruments used to grant legitimacy to the perpetration of international crimes.

Let Islamic fundamentalists have their own Islamic states as Jewish fundamentalists have their Zionist state!

Arthas

“Organisations like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are seen as terrorist movements because of their unapologetic pursuit of Muslim self-determination.”

So it has nothing to do with Hamas’ genocidal charter?

“Let Islamic fundamentalists have their own Islamic states as Jewish fundamentalists have their Zionist state!”

And what of the treatment of woman, homosexuals, apostates and religious minorities in the Islamic fundamentalist states? Do you think it is ok that people face the death penalty for the thought crime of no longer believing in Islam?

Look at how the Bahá’í are treated in Iran, their graveyards destroyed, their children not even allowed to attend university!

Take a guess where the Bahá’í do have freedom of religion and the seat of its governing body? Israel.

Sid

I thought I’d read the worst of the dribble you could sprout, but I was wrong. I don’t even know where to start commenting, so will simply say that Israel does not call for the anihilation of all Arab states and their people. The same cannot be said for the other side.

Rob

Interesting fact about that Hussein debacle – Wikileaks, in that big leak of all the diplomatic files, released correspondence that showed that the US actually encouraged Saddam to invade Kuwait, and told him they would support his action.

But while youare going on about the origins of islamic fundamentalism, you coulddo worse than to look up the history of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which before then, was a secular country with high levels of literacy and public service (at least by the standards of the impoverished region). The United states funded a coalition of Saudi terrorists called the Mujahideen, those who later formed the taliban government, to foment discord on Russia’s border, with the intention of dragging them into an expensive and unwinnable war.

The embattled Afghan republic (which dispite being socialist, was as yet unaffiliated with Russia) asked Russia to intervene to help them crush the extremist rebellion. Needless to say, most Afghans didn’t see things the same way as the central govt, most being just shepherds. So many Afghans took up arms against what they saw as just another colonial invasion, the Russians couldn’t fight a nebulous well adapted fighting force (Afghanistan has been at continuous war for almost 300 years with various forces) in a mountainous region, and eventually gave up, leaving the Taliban with an easy govt takeover, with only the practically identical Northern Alliance as competition. The rest is history.

Larry Lachman

Sentletse, the new cut and paste terrorist.

The Islamic world is huge and its many Islamic countries are well established and safe-havens for Islam. By contrast, the Jewish world is miniscule and clinging to a shard of land we can call our only homeland. Six million in a matchbox surrounded by 500 million in a landscape the size of a football field.

How is Jewish fundamentalism comparable to Islamic fundamentalism in the above context? The Islamic world is not fighting to survive, it is fighting for domination. It is very clear to distinguish the victim and the bully in this regard.

In 1948 there was no Palestinian State, no Palestinian government, nor Palestinian identity. It is all a fraud.

Anon

“Let Islamic fundamentalists have their own Islamic states as Jewish fundamentalists have their Zionist state!”

Lets see, Syria, Iran ,Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan, Lebanon and the list goes on… Are these countries not Islamic states ruled by Islamic rules?

And yes, Israel defends herself. Go do some research and count how many times Israel has been attacked by her neighbors. Would you feel safe if you were an Israeli (Muslim or Jewish)?

I wonder Sentletse, if you actually know what you are talking about, or just interesting in sensationalistic self promotion.

There are plenty of Islamic states,,Iran,Syria,Pakistan,Kuwait,Saudi Arabia,libya,Egypt to name a few. There is one tiny Jewish state called Israel that people like you just cannot accept why is this??

http://thoughtleader.co.za/sentletsediakanyo Sentletse Diakanyo

@FROSTY and ANON, actually very few Arab countries can by proper definition be classified as “Islamic states”, i.e. governed purely by Sharia law.

Only Aghanistan, Iran, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Libya, with few others, are Islamic states. Afghanistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman are puppets of the West and pose no threat to their political and economic interests; hence cordial relations with them.

Syria has a hybrid legal system, based on the French civil law and some aspect of Sharia. The same applies to the UAE and Jordan, which also have a hybrid legal system; including Pakistan whose legal system is based on English common law, with some aspects of Sharia. Egypt is based on a French civil law system, not sharia.

Islamic States that espouse fundemental precepts of Sharia, are generally those that are vilified by the West.

http://thoughtleader.co.za/sentletsediakanyo Sentletse Diakanyo

@LARRY LACHMAN, that argument of size by Israel and its apologists is an absurd argument. Israel may have 6 million Jews, or whatever number they are, but it commands significant influence in global politics. For example, look at the influece of Jewish lobby groups on the US congress; and by having that influence they ordinarily have influence on global politics, hence they like the US can get away with murder, literally.

Israel has created its own enemies by assuming a hostile position against its neighbours and bombarding them at will. The gung-ho attitude of Israel is what sustains hostilities in the Middle East. They must leave occupied Palestinian land and demolish illegal Jewish settlements; and all will be well in that region.

http://thoughtleader.co.za/sentletsediakanyo Sentletse Diakanyo

@SID, you’re right. Israel does not call for annihilation of Arab states; it goes out and annihilate the Arabs, e.g. Lebanon and Gaza!!! Israel’s imagined threat is a silly cover to continue violating international law and commit war-crimes. In that region, Israel has the superior army and is in no way under any dangeer of that imagined annihilation. It’s like a Tyson complaining that a 6 year old wants to kill him. It’s ridiculous.

frosty

“Israel has created its own enemies by assuming a hostile position against its neighbours and bombarding them at will. The gung-ho attitude of Israel is what sustains hostilities in the Middle East. They must leave occupied Palestinian land and demolish illegal Jewish settlements; and all will be well in that region.” Erm Sentlese ever heard of the 1948 war when every Arab country invaded Israel at will there were no “occupied Palestinian land then?? Also happened again and in 1967, get your facts right bro.

Grant

How old are you Sentletse? Very young I’m guessing as you seem to have no knowlegde of the history of the Middle East. You have heard of the Yom Kippur war…when Egypt & Syria invaded Israel, not the other way round? Your reasoning that if Israel “must leave occupied Palestinian land and demolish illegal Jewish settlements; and all will be well in that region” is childlike naivety. In the extreme.
That the the so-called “Thought Leader” publishes writing as poor as this is reason enough not to read the rubbish that so often appears on these pages nowdays. Please M&G, by all means print articles arguing the other side, but not ones so poorly researched and written that one simply has to laugh at the inaccuracies therin.

Janet O’Donoghue

The US economy is fundamentally driven by the war machine, pun intended. I read a while ago that if war ended right now 80% of California would suddenly be unemployed! There can be no peace on this planet as long as we buy into any form of fundamentalism – in fact, let’s simply chuck out all the isms and be a part of the Human Race, with preference for various means of expressing, respecting all other forms of expression. When are we as a colelctive consciousness going to grow up, wake up smell the roses, or in our case the SH@! we have created on this planet, so that we can do something about it. Thanks for articles like this!

Robard

I think Sentletse’s profile explains it all:

“Sentletse Diakanyo’s blogs may contain views on any subject which may upset sensitive readers. … He is not a journalist and his readers should not unreasonably expect balanced articles.”

(Not that he actually achieves the first stated objective.)

izeze

“Israel’s imagined threat”

“Imagined”? Are you crazy?

Larry Lachman

@ Sentletse

There is no dealing with people like you. You have chosen a patently false narrative which is typical of those that embrace ignorance as the basis for their opinions. Good luck to you. The rest of us will forge ahead make a decent world while your kind languish in your self-induced misery.

Leon Trotsky

Well researched and factual, but I think a little naive. You note that “In the aftermath of WWII, communist ideology had gained unprecedented popularity and was spreading across Europe. The US and Britain were terrified of the consequence of the spread of communism on the global political and economic landscape.” The spread of communism was due to a far simpler reason – the Red Army invaded half of Europe and crushed all dissent in the most brutal campaign of imperialism the world has yet seen. The truth is that the Soviets were greater imperialists and conquerors than the West ever were. The countries that allied to the West did it by choice, and accepted Marshall aid by choice. The countries in the East had military occupation and puppet Soviet regimes imposed on them – the rigged Polish election, the crushing of dissent in Hungary in 56, the suppression of the Czech intellectuals. The Soviet Empire spanned 11 time zones and barricaded its citizens in who were desperate to flee West. You can blame the West for much Middle East meddling. But when it comes to imperialism, dictatorship and brutality, they were nowehere near as bad as the Soviets. A truth that is ignored in the mythology of the noble communists.

Uncle B

It is only human! This is the human condition, the human mind, easily inflamed, and in love with war. Humans rather fight than breed, even eat, for all recorded history, for reasons they choose to choose. China won, hands down, on the economic battlefield of the world, against the U.S.A. in the past two decades! Testosterone? No, a mental quirk? Perhaps. Humans thrive on a good fight, it is a necessary part of their nature. It is the history of mankind. We have the technologies to live in peace, comfort, controlled sustainability. We ignore this. We fight. Sports, an outlet for this? Not likely. Blood lust,we are born with it in our very genetic make-up. We are a sick, perverted, hateful, smelly, homicidal, little meat-eating animal. I query Genesis,6:2, Even the old Book admits our cross-bred genes.

http://aol fergie

@Janet, When the US had an isolation policy world war two broke out and suck this country in it with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This incident open the people eyes in the US that with the advancement in technology, that the US has to build bases overseas, to protect the US security. That means the US should have capability to put these little brush fires out to avoid a major fire like a WW3. The US policy thinking, it’s better to fight over there than to fight on our shores. This policy has worked because there has not been a WW3 where over 100 million people died. This policy has helped Africa that can’t afford to build big armies to protect themselves and they don’t have the technology to do so.

http://aol fergie

@Sentletse, Islamic was imperialistic and used wars to spread their influence around the world along with their feudal system of government. You failed to talked about the clash in the middle east is between the old order and new order that’s these people want to setup. I was just watching the other night where a Turkish write was talking about the clash of people in his country that wants to modernized Turkey and the group that are against it.

About 80 (eighty) million Hindus died during the Muslim conquest of India. Surely the biggest Holocaust in recorded history.

Chopper4

You really have no clue what you are typing and the fact that M&G give you free reign must only be to get their visitors count up, I see that generally you got lots of comments yet nowadays you only get the odd comment. Where do you come with this Jewish Fundamentalism is Zionism??? That is the most absurd thing I have heard to date, due to the fact you do not need to be Jewish to be a Zionist.

Hamas want an Islamic state…you do realise that is against the Palestine constitution of 2003. Before you start your rantings you should actually know the facts otherwise you just make yourself look like more of a fool.

Just remember if the Palestinians would lay down arms there would be peace tomorrow, If Israel were to lay down arms, there would be war tomorrow.

The comparisons you make are that of a naive schoolkid, and that is exactly the standard of writing exhibited in your absolute rubbish that you write